The Timestream
by Crazyfangirl23
Summary: One-shot of Clara in the Doctor's Timestream. Concept and conversation from Name of the Doctor


The Timestream

Clara saw all his incarnations flash before her eyes at the speed of fire. She fell through the time stream, through time itself, her soul ripping into a million pieces all to save The Doctor. Her beautiful, renegade Doctor, who had never noticed her, yet she had always been there. In fact his Eleventh incarnation had been the first to notice, the first to care. And it was his face she held with her all the way down to the bottom, his smile and his hair and his ridiculously funny bow tie. And she loved him. She loved him more than all of time and space but she didn't expect him to return her feelings. But then a memory struck her: one of her Gallifreyan self, standing beside The Doctor in identical robes and holding a baby in her arms. She realised that she had been The Doctor's first wife. And she had followed him, saving his life countless times over until she was fully reunited with her husband. She sobbed into the translucent, murky ground and pictured the smile on his face as they looked down at their child.

She whipped her head round and saw his ninth incarnation run past her, a whirlwind of black leather. She looked back to see his tenth running in his suit and coat. She saw him pull at his jacket in his first regeneration, saw the recorder and black bowl haircut of his second, a dramatic cape and brown curls accompanied by a long, stripy scarf. She saw the celery on the cricket jacket, the wild and colourful costume and the poetry, umbrella's and question mark jumpers, neckwear and velvet jacket, leather, sand shoes, bow tie and fezzes. Bow tie and fezzes.

'I don't know where I am.' She cried repeatedly, her thoughts buzzing, confusing, all gone and replaced by the fear of the unknown, her own fear of being lost.

'Clara.' A voice rang in her head, clear as a bell. She shot up, listening to the voice that made her heart skip.

'You can hear me. I know you can.'

'I can't see you.'

'I'm everywhere. You're in my timestream. Everything around you is me.'

'I can see you,' she whispered, 'all your different faces are here.'

'Those are my ghosts, my past. Every good day, every bad day.'

A shake came from within the timestream and she stumbled.

'What's wrong? What's happening?' She called.

'I'm inside my own time stream. it's collapsing in on itself.' He explained.

'Well get out then!'

'Not until I've got you.' Clara's heart did a somersault. He would risk his own timestream, his own life and all his future regenerations just to save her. She felt worthless in the name of the Doctor.

'I don't even know who I am.'

'You're my impossible girl.' The words made her feel more special than she ever was, and sent a jolt through her spine.

'I'm sending you something. Not from my past, from yours. Look up. Look.' Her leaf. It floated down toward her and she grasped it, holding it tight while she tried to fight more tears.

'This is you, Clara. Everything you are or will be. Take it. You blew into the world on this leaf. Hold tight. It will take you home.'

His voice soothed her, made her less panicked and worried. She knew where she was. She was with the Doctor, where she should be. Where she would always be.

She turned and saw her Doctor, arms spread out and his hair flopping crazily. He was so beautiful.

'Clara, Clara, come up. Come up to me now. You can do it, I know you can.' Those words he spoke, the amount of faith he had in her. It was enough to send her to tears again.

'How?' Her voice cracked, but clear.

'Because it's impossible and you're my impossible girl!' He exclaimed, arms wide, waiting for an embrace.

'How many times have you saved me, Clara? Just this once, just for the hell of it, let me save you!' He shouted, hands wringing in longing and expression that of encouragement.

'You have to trust me, Clara, I'm real.'

She looked up at him, saw his face, and knew it was where she wanted to be. She took a step, almost faltering, final tears leaving a trail down her face and glinting in the light.

'Just one more step.' He cried, and Clara bounded into his arms like a toddler taking it's first steps. She threw her arms around him, and she felt safe in his embrace. The Doctor held on even tighter, nuzzling his face into her shoulder and crying as equally as she did.

'Clara! My Clara! Oh!' He shouted, and her heart exploded with love for this man when he said he was hers. She was his Clara, and nothing could ever change that would make her not his. His voice felt strained with relief and happiness that she was in his arms.

He stroked her hair and kissed the side of her head almost inconspicuously, like it was automatic default that he kiss every part of her face. And then he said something that no one ever heard, that she wasn't meant to hear. One thing that crushed her from the inside as he breathed it into her shoulder, not realising she had heard. He had said it so breathlessly and quietly that she nearly hadn't. But it repeated in her head, his voice overwhelmed with unmistakable affection.

'I love you.'


End file.
